Now You See Me

            Now You See Me was on my radar for several months.  I like magic because I like being entertained.  Burt Wonderstone didn't do much for me because it was kind of a mess, albeit a harmless one.  So I have not been truly mesmerized by a 'magic movie' since The Prestige.  I was hoping this weekend would shake that up a bit, but alas I still have not been mesmerized by a magic movie since The Prestige.

           

            On to the review!

            The problem with Now You See Me is not in its plot or actors.  Both aspects may be a bit underwhelming but there's nothing offensive there.  No, my biggest problem is the cinematography.  You see, when I watch a movie I do not expect to be nauseated.  Neither The Blair Witch Project nor the Bourne films bothered me at all, yet I left the theater on Friday with a headache and an angry stomach.  My theory is that directors of photography Mitchell Amundsen and Larry Fong are terrible people. 

            No, not really.  What they are, however, are directors of action.  Just look at their background.  300, Sucker Punch, Watchmen, Pearl Harbor, The Bourne Supremacy.  Those are action-packed films that also have dizzying camera effects.  Unfortunately this time they went overboard.  When the camera should sit still, it goes crazy.  When it could get away with being crazy, it sits still.  Oddly enough, the only time the cameras calm the fuck down is during portions of the magic act.  Otherwise they are everywhere.  I'm pretty sure some of the fight scenes were filmed by some dude wearing those little glasses cameras people use on prank TV shows.

            In short, the camera work is a sloppy, distracting mess.  Which is a real shame, because the movie really isn't all that bad.  Basically, four magicians team up out of nowhere and start putting on ridiculous shows, during which laws may or may not be broken.  This of course attracts the attention of the FBI, who send Agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) and Interpol Agent Alma Dray (Melanie Laurent) to interrogate the 'Four Horsemen'.

            If you have seen the trailers, you already know that the Four Horsemen are Jesse Eisenberg as The Lover, J. Daniel Atlas, Woody Harrelson as The Hermit, Merritt McKinney, Isla Fisher as The Priestess, Henley Reeves and Dave Franco as Death, Jack Wilder.  Individually they are all uniquely talented magicians, but together they seem to be an unstoppable force that is always several steps ahead of any and every Federal Agency that tries to stop them.

            Throw in Morgan Freeman as a magician who lives to expose other's magic tricks and Michael Caine as the rich financial backer of the Four Horsemen, and you've got yourself an amazing cast.  To me, this more than makes up for the slightly muddled plot.  Yes, there are so many damn people on screen that nobody really gets fleshed out, but it was nice to have a film where you really won't know who the bad guys are until you get to the end...or until you figure it out. 

            That's the other slight problem I had.  While the film does a fine job of not telegraphing who is what when how and why, there are enough not-so-subtle clues that will allow you to figure out the ending with a good 30 minutes left in the film's 115 minute run-time.

            So there you have it.  A movie that is nowhere as good as it could have been and certainly not as good as it should have been.  The characters are interesting if not deep and the plot is just good enough to keep you entertained, but it's nothing special.  Oh yeah, and if you do see it, sit in the very back of the theater or you might throw up.